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Monday, October 29, 2012

Just wanted to let you all know that we are safe here in Jersey City. This morning the hotel held a mandatory meeting where they explained what is going to happen.

They came up and taped our windows to help them from shattering and they have generators if the power goes out. If it continues to get stronger they will evacuate us to the Ballroom where we will stay for the night or until it is safe to go back to our rooms.

The entrance is barricaded but that's okay because if you're caught outside the cops will ticket you!

The hotel has plenty of food and is serving 3 meals a day....unfortunately it's $20 a person!!!

Hopefully it passes through quicker than they think and things will get back to normal. Our flight was rescheduled for late Wednesday night.

We went outside while we could to get some fresh air before we were trapped and I've never felt such strong winds!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

It's funny how when you're little 50 seems soooooo old but when your parents hit that milestone you

realize that it's not old at all. In fact, 50 is probably the new 40.

I'm feeling a bit guilty being on the whole other side of the country when I should be home celebrating him, but I know that he's happy I got this opportunity because he's just a nice guy like that.

When I was little I made him an epic birthday card that he still has to this day. I don't think I'll ever be able to top it...ever.

So instead of a lame, store bought card I'm writing him this blog post :)

Hi Dad,

Sorry I'm not there for your birthday. I promise I'll make it up to you when I get home. I just want you to know that I think you're the greatest Dad ever. You're so generous and I admire your willingness to help friends, family, and strangers at the drop of a hat. You've always been a great example when it comes to that. You have one of the kindest hearts I've ever known. I can't thank you and Mom enough for always making so many wonderful childhood memories for us. San Diego trips, Disneyland, and our yearly fair trip will always be some of my favorite memories. Now that I'm out of the house and married I can appreciate how hard you worked to support us and make sure we never wanted for anything.

Monday, October 22, 2012

I dropped Tim off at the airport bright and early this morning and he's probably half way to New York by now. Now Linus and I just have to make it through two nights without him and I'll be boarding a plane myself!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

If you know me or have read my blog in the last year you've known that I've struggled with some undiagnosed health issues. After countless procedures, endoscopy's, colonoscopys, cat scans, surgery's, an abundance of blood taken and anything else you can imagine I've become a little fed up with the average doctor. Dare I say, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

About a month ago a friend suggested I see a nutritionist that she had just gone to. Heck, it was worth a try. I met with the nutritionist last week and confessed to her that she was my last hope. I sent her some blood work and a 5 page health assessment explaining my symptoms and their severity.

Yesterday Tim and I met with her to get my results and I found out several things:

-I'm digesting food but not taking in the nutrients from it.

-It's quite possible that I have a fungus or parasite living in my stomach or intestines

(we have to wait a couple weeks for those test results)

but the biggest one is that I'm GLUTEN INTOLERANT!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Have you ever taken the time to see what has gluten in it?

Let me tell you...it's pretty much everything!

Whew! Okay, I can do this. Oh, did I forget to mention I have to get rid of dairy too? ::tear::

I just keep telling myself that although the diet will be difficult, feeling better will be SOOOO worth it. My amazingly supportive husband is also going to embrace the gluten free life with me!

When the flavor memory of wheat begins to fade (this takes time by the way, and is why I didn’t recommend rushing out to purchase gluten-free substitutes for pasta, brownies, bread, and cookies; they’ll taste funny- even odd to your wheat saturated taste buds) there are plenty of tasty pastas to twirl, breads to toast, and decadent Dark Chocolate Brownies to melt in your mouth.

But try to give yourself two weeks first. Gluten affects brain chemistry. Experts liken it to opiod addiction. One mother told me her agitated , gluten craving son actually licked the kitchen table during the his first gluten-free week, trying to get a taste of gluten.

Adjustment to living gluten-free usually takes a minimum of two weeks; and it can, in some individuals, take up to a month or two- especially if hidden gluten is consumed, and the craving for it lingers.

Think of it as a psychic adjustment period, where your focus is not on what you can no longer have, but on choosing fresh, healthful, whole foods that will jump-start your healing process.

Say yes to fresh produce. If you’re a vegetarian, you're in luck. You already love veggies of all kinds, so go for it. Do your bunny food thing. And don't forget fresh seasonal fruit.

Give your taste buds time to adjust to the newness of gluten-free flours. They are, indeed, different. They smell different and taste different. The texture is different. It takes about two weeks or so to adjust your wheat craving taste buds to the alternative charms of gluten-free grains. Be patient. The craving for wheat will pass. I promise.Aside from the obvious forbidden foods (bread, breadcrumbs, rolls, muffins, bagels, donuts, croissants, cereal, pizza, fried food, pasta, beer, crackers, pretzels, cookies, cake, brownies, pie crust) I advise saying no to processed foods and mixes, fast food, junk food, snack food dusted with added flavors, packaged seasonings, soups and dressings- in other words, anything with ingredients you can barely pronounce.Cross Contamination!

And now for the thorny part. The tricky bump on the learning curve- invisible gluten. It is dead sneaky! Where does it come from?

First- consider the contents of your refrigerator. All shared condiments must be avoided; it's best to purchase your own peanut butter, jam, butter & margarine, mayo- and separate it. You can label it: My GF Stash. Or use a colored sticker system. It does seem extreme, I know. But, Dear Reader, crumbs and residue from gluten containing food can wreak havoc. Trust me.

You may not think so, at first (I admit, didn't believe it), but even the tiniest gluten crumble contains enough of the offending gluten molecule to cause serious trouble and trigger our sensitive immune systems. And we know how tiny molecules are. And how invisible.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

The boy surprised me with the sweetest gifts and I don't think they'll ever be topped.

I walked into the bedroom to find tons of Polaroids ( 99 to be exact) from our entire relationship strung around the room!

I would have been perfectly pleased with that but he had to go and out do himself with a book of our love story complete with cute stick figures depicting our first meeting to dates and our wedding. I'll be dedicating a whole post to the book soon because it is the most amazing thing I've ever seen. All of the small details he put into it are just the best!

I felt a little silly giving him my gift after this but he still loved it :)

A key chain engraved with the coordinates of the spot where he proposed

We spent the day relaxing at Glen Ivy Hot Springs. Lounging by the pools and getting a aloe vera moisturizing treatment in The Grotto. I don't know if I'm a fan of all those fancy spa treatments. I felt a bit awkward. They send you down in an elevator to a dark cave area where we were met by two girls who "painted" the concoction on us. I use "painted" loosely because they kinda just slop it on all over you. After that you head to another part of the cave to let it soak in and its like a million degrees in there. I couldn't last the whole 10 minutes because I thought I was going to die. After that you head to these little cave like showers to wash off. Let me tell you, that was no easy task! Imagine being covered in tons of the thickest lotion ever and trying to rinse off. Next you enter the last part of the cave where it is cool and quiet and you're supposed to relax with tea and a crisp apple. I left feeling a bit puzzled but Tim couldn't stop talking about how refreshed and soft he felt.

After that we took a dip in the pool and were having a great time till Tim stops mid sentence and orders me to go under water...After telling me several times I finally do but just a second too late because the bee that was on my shoulder already decided to make me his victim. My husband came to the rescue and pulled the stinger out quickly. We decided to get out and dry off thinking this was a sign it was time to head home and I see a low flying bird heading towards me in slow motion already starting his business and it lands right on my foot. Okay, now that's the sign we need to head home.

After a lovely dinner and picking up the fur kid from Grandma and Grandpas we went home to our partially defrosted wedding cake. It actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting. We took a couple bites and called it a night.